It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

Toronto should bury the Gardiner Expressway and Rail Lands

page: 1
4

log in

join
share:

posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 03:54 PM
link   

It completely hems in and cuts off the City from the shoreline of Lake Ontario.



Why haven't they tunneled underneath?

Too expensive?

Just look at the real estate and greenspace, retail and commercial and development opportunities, even tourism.

And while they're at it, Young Street should be shut down and made a promenade, all the way up, no cars, just bicycle lanes.

There's always a way of rerouting traffic.

Toronto will do both of these things, eventually, but I don't understand for the life of me why they don't get on it now.

Lack of vision. Lack of political willpower.

It's just a consortium and a massive P3 though, it's totally doable.

Toronto in many ways you suck, but it's fixable, all in one shot.

When the city is no longer cut off from the waterfront, then it becomes a whole new experience for everyone who lives there and who visits.

Total world class city.

It is to a degree, but it sure would be if someone had the courage to advance the idea for real and once and for all, to get it moving.

What are your thoughts? Any Torontonians? What do you think?

And while you're at it, please send a link to this discussion to the Mayor and City Hall and tell them to get their asses in gear, and start talking to some developers and high financiers.

Elon Musk is getting into boring machines for just this kind of purpose.

A moonshot for Toronto.

The vision came to me and I'm sure I'm not the only one or the first to think of this, so I felt I'd make a post on it in Science and Technology.

All you'd need would be a Consortium and a group of developers and investors maybe even with some taxpayer money through Provincial and Federal Investment funds as the Prime Minister has been talking up infrastructure, while some of the Provinces are experiencing austerity measures in public infrastructure capital spending. It's needed, BIG things like this, and a high speed rail corridor between Calgary and Edmonton as another primes example of the kinds of things we ought to be doing for a 21st century Infrastructure to help facilitate growth and the further movement of people, goods and services in the economy, making it stronger.

Canada itself would benefit from this, the transformation of one of our Cities.

I think it's a great idea.

So doable, however big and complex it might appear at first glance.

What do you think?

edit on 27-3-2017 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 04:43 PM
link   
Already (partly) in the works. A $1B+ plan for the redevelopment of the eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway has been presented to the council and has the mayors backing. There is also a proposal to cover the CN rails and turn it into park land, which the core desperately needs.

en.wikipedia.org...

www1.toronto.ca... D



posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 05:33 PM
link   
a reply to: AnkhMorpork

Are you going to pay for it personally? If so, go for it, otherwise, don't be spending other people's money.

Cheers - Dave



posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 06:02 PM
link   
a reply to: AnkhMorpork

Do you commute on the Garder?

How will they move traffic without it?



posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 06:15 PM
link   

originally posted by: TiredofControlFreaks
a reply to: AnkhMorpork

Do you commute on the Garder?

How will they move traffic without it?


It would be placed underground.

edit on 27-3-2017 by AnkhMorpork because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 06:17 PM
link   

originally posted by: Syphon
Already (partly) in the works. A $1B+ plan for the redevelopment of the eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway has been presented to the council and has the mayors backing. There is also a proposal to cover the CN rails and turn it into park land, which the core desperately needs.

en.wikipedia.org...

www1.toronto.ca... D



Ah, good, so they've already started the whole process.

Tunneling and boring technology is very good now. So I think they should just bury the whole thing.



posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 06:31 PM
link   
a reply to: AnkhMorpork

Sounds nice and all, but looks like it would cost well over 50 billion dollars just for the tunnel, likely a lot more, shall we increase our taxes again ?

And the land itself must be worth far more than that.....



posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 07:28 PM
link   
Toronto didn't build the highways and transit it should have back in the 60's and 70's and is now paying for it.

Burying the Gardner would be far too expensive and it would be traffic chaos. The only other east west arterial road covering downtown is Lakeshore Boulevard and it is at capacity as it is currently. Add the traffic from the gardner and its gridlock. The Big Dig in Boston took forever and was massively over budget.

I don't know what the solution is but taking away existing roadways are not it. The hybrid model that council came up with is an alright consolation.

Driving on the Gardner at night seeing the skyline is pretty cool. Also looking out the windows from the condos in the area and seeing the highway is neat. I like the Gardner personally.

edit on 27-3-2017 by deuceawesome because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 27 2017 @ 07:39 PM
link   

originally posted by: ParasuvO
a reply to: AnkhMorpork

Sounds nice and all, but looks like it would cost well over 50 billion dollars just for the tunnel, likely a lot more, shall we increase our taxes again ?

And the land itself must be worth far more than that.....



The land. Freeing up the land would pay for it. All you need is a consortium of developers and big international financiers to foot the bill. As an underground roadway, it would also end up as a toll road to help recover costs.

If would totally transform the downtown core, and open up the waterfront.

Just a thought..




top topics



 
4

log in

join